Image via Ledbetter Architect
What’s the best place for artists to live? New York is too expensive. The traffic in Los Angeles is terrible. But what do you do if you are an actor, a dancer, or a painter and you want to make your mark?
Move to Paducah.
What’s that, you say? Where is Paducah? It’s in Kentucky. Why should you move there? Because they’ll bribe you.
Artist Housing Projects
In 2000 the leaders of Paducah got together to figure out how to improve the image of their town. They wanted to revitalize the community. The solution? Invite artists to move to the city – an artist relocation program. Nine years and over $6 Million in investments later Paducah has become an artist haven and a model for how other communities can build their own artist communities.
“The Artist Relocation Program is about artist ownership, thus giving the artists a vested interest in our community. To date we have relocated seventy artists who have taken us up on our financial and cultural incentives.” – Paducaharts.com
These incentives include money for relocating, grants for purchasing or building homes, and promises of business coaching and new venues for the artists. Paducah made good on those promises and they are now the example for best places for artists to live.
There is a boom in artist housing communities going on in the USA. As artists are priced out of the New Yorks and the LA’s, and as the Internet makes it easier for artists to get the word out about their work, smaller cities and towns are becoming gathering places for the artistic elite.
Artist Housing Project Across the Country
In addition to Paducah, these cities have started artist relocation programs:
Palestine, IL
Covington, KY
Cumberland, Maryland – Cumberland’s Allegany Arts Council has created a very interesting relocation program. Complete with relocation incentives, the Arts and Entertainment district of Cumberland aims to upscale its town by bringing talented and hard working artists in to revitalize the district.
Chattanooga, TN – Forgivable mortgages, financial assistance, and career development training available for artists who are willing to roll up their sleeves and help build the cultural revolution that Chattanooga is developing. The program is entering the third stage of its development (no word on whether there will be a fourth) and may or may not be currently accepting applications for further residents.
Oil City, PA
Johnstown, PA – The Kernville Arts District has another relocation program. Great terms for mortgages for artists who are willing to relocate to Johnstown.
Do you live in an artist housing project or do you know of one not on this list? Leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I was so excited when searching on my computer and found “artist relocation programs”. So I looked into A LOT of them. I drove to several places in the country I submitted applications an pictures of my work and I was accepted into those that I applied for.
The only problem is that most of the information I found was old and doesn’t apply any more, and the rest of it was crazy. The places I went to either had the worst places in the world in bad neighborhoods and it would take a small fortune to fix them up UNLESS you or someone close to you was a builder or contractor. Some of the programs that I looked into have been around awhile and I guess the initial excitement for the towns wore off and I couldn’t get any real help. Most of them had a certain SMALL area to look for housing in and there wasn’t much of a choice.
I’m a poor potter and all I want is a decient place to live with my boyfriend and 2 cats. I can’t find any and OH yes, some of them~~~~~~well there properity tax was way out of line. How could people expect and unknown artist to get a start in these places?????
Hi Linda,
Have you checked out Covington, Ky and Chatanooga? If so I would be inerested in your impressions of these communities.
Thanks, Kate
Hi,
Pawtucket, RI has a great artists relocation program…they not only have relocation stipends, but they also allow artists to work and sell work without paying income or sales tax. Check out:http://www.pawtucketri.com/arts/plan/
I am currently looking at relocating to Asheville or Marshall NC but they do not have a relocation incentive. Simply, there is a big arts scene growing bigger every year and also a lot of wealthy people coming there to see and buy art. I live in Stonington, Maine in summer and that is also a great arts destination but not enough to sustain year round.
I am kicking myself for not getting in on the “ground floor” of Paducah back in 2002 when I lived in LA and first heard about it. Now, the property values are thru the roof and totally unaffordable for real working artists without a nest egg.
Thanks for the great blog!
Great information here and seems well worth investigating!
I live/work in downtown LA. Yes, it’s very expensive and not really very artist friendly. But I’m hoping to help change that. The owner of the building where I live just bought a building that is designated Low-Income only. So I suggested that he create a “low-income artist building”. He loved the idea and asked me to help. We now have a meeting with our City Council Person to help pave the way. If it works, the building owner will expand the project to other buildings he owns and Los Angeles will have it’s first official arts housing project.
If you are interested, or can help – please stay in touch with me.
I sent you an email Bettie.
In portland, maine they put up a new housing project for artists 2 years ago. it’s called, parkside studios. they turned an old school house into low-cost condominiums for artists. i believe the city is trying to do what KY is doing. it’s a cool idea but the condos are located in a terrible part of town. anyone who knows the area would never live there.
i’m trying to find housing, and altho i’m not an artist yet, i wish i could find a building with artists. there’s no place i’d rather be while i work on my skills. i think alot of artists and students, etc feel that way, and i wonder why we don’t see more live/work housing. i’m sure it would attract many more artists to the area.
if anyone knows about any housing for artists / students in maine, nh, or mass., please post about it. or email me at: iloveart at myfairpoint.net
Hey Denise. Thanks for stopping by. Most of these sorts of projects are in run-down buildings or in bad parts of town. That’s why they’re done. It helps revive that part of the city and bring in more tax revenue. The successful projects partner with local law enforcement and civic authorities to help artists clean up those neighborhoods and make them safe.
The reason projects like this aren’t more popular is because they’re expensive and many people see art as a ‘nice to have.’ They don’t see the economic impact that it can have on a local economy. That said, if more people were advocating for these kinds of projects, then more of them would be done.
Just to pick some brains a little more. I work for a small arts organization (budget under $200k) that has been approached by a property owner to consider creating an artist relocation program. This wouldn’t be about revitilizing rundown areas at this point but about selling properties. We are in a small, historical, beautiful town on the south east coast (city population about 10,000). Our organization is small but passionate about supporting the business growth of artists and as part of this we are looking to grow our arts and culture scene. We can’t guarantee sales (I’ve read that Paducah has lost a lot of artists because of this) — we can only provide a beautiful environment to create in and opportunities to participate in the ground floor of an arts and culture renaissance. What really are artists interested in when it comes to relocation? Thoughts?
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